The Eight Limbs: Dharana
Dharana, the 6th limb, is concentration, which is not to be confused with Dhyana (the 7th limb), meditation.
Concentration is a single pointed awareness. Rather than thinking about what to make for dinner, what your teacher is wearing and about that annoying song that won't get out of your head while you're going into Trikonasana (triangle pose), we focus on just one thing.
We need to become completely engrossed in a single point of focus. we essentially bind the mind to one place, object or idea.
This is all in preparation for meditation when we essentially become one with our point of focus.
In yoga we use this often in class.
How many times have you been asked to draw your attention to your breath? Too many to count! The breath is a great point of focus during a yoga class because it is an essential part of the actual practice, our Pranayama. Our ultimate aim in our practice is to unite the mind, the body and the breath. What better way to work towards this than drawing our attention to these things during our yoga class.
We also use Dharana when we use our Drishti. Drishti is where you look while you're meditating or in a yoga pose, your gaze. In class I will often say "set your drishti," as in find a spot were you are going to look while you hold the pose. This is particularly helpful in balancing poses like tree pose.
I like to think of Dharana as the beginners version of meditation. It is the basis of "mindfulness" meditation and a lot of other types. Being able to concentrate on just one thing and calm your 'monkey mind' is a great skill that takes time to develop, but has many benefits for your mental, physical and social health. Ultimately however, it inspires a feeling of calm, which is often the best part about doing a yoga class! It is a chance to slow down, calm down and just focus.
That's all for today, folks. See you next week!
Namaste x
